Centrica, British Gas's parent company, faces backlash over a rise in pre-tax
profits.

British Gas parent company Centrica has announced a 90pc rise in pre-tax profits, angering consumer groups. Last October British Gas raised gas and electricity prices by 6pc that raised the average dual fuel bill by £80.

At the time, Phil Bentley, the British Gas managing director, put the blame for most of the increase down to rising costs largely outside the company's control.

"Britain's North Sea gas supplies are running out, and British Gas has to pay the going rate for gas in a competitive global marketplace," he said.

British Gas standard tariff currently costs consumers £1,326 a year.

Clare Francis at comparison website MoneySupermarket.com said that this news should be a wake up call to consumers.

“With energy bills already making up a large proportion of monthly outgoings for UK households, today’s announcement by Centrica will be difficult for many to stomach," she said.

"However, this news should be a wakeup call for anyone who hasn’t switched energy supplier recently. There are hefty savings out there to be made by moving to a cheaper tariff, even as energy prices continue to rise so act now – especially if you are reeling from a cold winter and costly winter bill, and continued cold weather."

Almost seven in ten households have gone without heating at some point this winter to keep their energy costs down, while more than a third of people say that cutting back on energy usage is affecting their quality of life or health, according to uSwitch.com.

Ann Robinson from the aggregator site said: "Asking customers to swallow a 6pc winter price hike and then unveiling a 90pc increase in profits is tantamount to waving a red rag at a bull. Yes there is a huge amount of investment required to keep the lights on over the next ten years, but there has to be a balance between energy companies making healthy profits and people going cold for fear of the cost of turning their heating on."

Consumers have been voicing their anger over the announcement on Twitter, with many users accusing British Gas of putting their shareholders' needs before their customers'.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: crimson amelia - Hurrah,much needed work can now be undertaken with the profits for British Gas -gold plated lavatories for the director's day spa.&lt;/noframe&gt;

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Laura Kuenssberg - British Gas profits up 11 percent - good day for Centrica shareholders, but with consumers will feel differently&lt;/noframe&gt;

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Andrea Dean - &lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/uSwitchUK" target="_blank"&gt;@uSwitchUK&lt;/a&gt; A/c to radio report, British Gas stated profits to be no more &lt;/noframes&gt;